Woman trapped when roof collapses under heavy snow and ice

Firefighters freed the woman in New Dominion using the Jaws of Life

Evelyn MacLeod of New Dominion was injured after being pinned underneath the collapsed roof of her deck. (CBC)

A woman in New Dominion was taken to hospital Monday night after snow and ice clearing efforts caused a deck roof to collapse, trapping her under the debris.

'Not a squeak, not a hitch and down she came.'- Blair MacLeod

Evelyn MacLeod was barbecuing on the back deck around 6:30 p.m. when part of the home's roof that extended over the deck gave way.

Her husband Blair MacLeod and their daughter's boyfriend had gone up to clean off the snow and ice.

"We were only up there five seconds," said MacLeod.

"Not a squeak, not a hitch and down she came."

Evelyn MacLeod was trapped from her knees down.

The men were also trapped, but managed to quickly escape.

Firefighters from the North River Fire Department used the Jaws of Life to lift the roof enough to pull out the woman’s legs.

Evelyn MacLeod's hand was badly cut in the incident.

"There was snow and ice on one side up against the house, so I didn't want anybody on that side or it would push down on her. Then we thought we'd cut a hole, but, like I said, we didn't want the ice and snow coming through. So we decided just to jam the jaws underneath and lifted it two inches and took her out and away she went," said Fire Chief Kirby Wakelin.

Lucky to be alive

Wakelin said it took about half an hour to free her.

“We weren't 100 per cent sure what to do because of the peculiar way she was trapped,” he said.

MacLeod is "really lucky" to be alive, said Wakelin.

"If she had moved toward the house instead of the backyard, she never would have made it, the deck would have come down and crushed her. There's no doubt in my mind," he said.

Blair MacLeod agrees that if his wife had gone the other way, "she would have been cut in half."

She was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and has since been released.

MacLeod said doctors told him his wife's legs are fine, but her hand was badly cut.